Thanks to the generosity of a Bethlehem congregation that recently suffered a heartbreaking loss of its own, members of a small Midwestern church destroyed by a fire are closer to having a new place of worship.
Holy Innocents Church in Parmelee, S.D., was destroyed by a fire last fall. A Bethlehem, Pa., congregation that recently sustained devastating water damage recently donated more than $2,000 to the Pine Ridge Reservation congregation to help it rebuild. (Contributed photo)
Trinity Episcopal Church in Bethlehem, which was heavily damaged when a water main broke the day after Christmas, recently donated more than $2,000 through its Centennial Fund to the Holy Innocents Episcopal Church on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Parmelee, S.D. A 170-year-old wooden church, Holy Innocents was destroyed in a blaze last October.
Trinity’s Centennial Fund was established to support local, national or international causes, and a news release about its gift to the South Dakota congregation noted that “the commonality of each congregation losing the use of their building swayed the local congregation to the choice of helping the modest church located on the Pine Ridge reservation.”
“Your words, prayers and donations will help us build a new church that the entire community can use for worship, family events and large community events,” the Rev. Lauren Stanley, acting rector of Holy Innocents, said in response to Trinity’s donation.
Studies are under way to determine what will be needed to restore Trinity Epsicopal Church so it can be used again, and volunteers from the congregation recently removed contents from the historic church building on E. Market Street so restoration work can begin once the assessment is concluded.
“We feel supported by the prayers and hopes of people throughout the Episcopal Community worldwide, and by the people in Bethlehem, for restoring our building,” said Trinity’s rector, the Rev. Dr. Pamela Payne. “Our grief has been transformed into generosity to those suffering a similar tragedy. Trinity Episcopal Church has always been a place of service and mercy to the community and the larger world.”
This local news story was reported with generative AI assistance.
The historic Holy Innocents Episcopal Church on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is pictured before it was destroyed by a fire. The blaze last October leveled the historic building. (Contributed photo)
